The Metropolitan police has requested Oyster card data relating to citizens and other personal information from Transport for London (TfL) more than 22,000 times since 2008, according to figures published by the capital’s transport authority.

The force requested personal data TfL holds relating to citizens 5,295 times in 2008; 5,359 in 2009; 5,046 in 2010; and 6,258 in 2011, according to a response to a freedom of information request from Guardian Government Computing. The figures also show that the force has made 264 requests for such information this year so far.